Sian from Sponsor Quay Fitness with winners Debbie Leece, Clare Cooper and Rebecca Teare
Photo: Glynn Hargraves
South Ramsey Bowling Club were the hosts for the Jim Senior Any Combination Triples with the format change appearing to prove popular amongst the Islands bowlers as 26 teams – 78 bowlers taking part on a superb playing surface. The competition has a change of sponsor this year with Quay Fitness Gym Ramsey supporting the competition.
Navigating their way through the early rounds to reach the semi-finals were the Marown Trio of Clare Cooper, Debbie Leece and Rebecca Teare, who kept their opponents down to scoring on four ends throughout the game as they secured a comfortable 21-13 win over Wayne Roberts, Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary) and Marown’s Glenn Boland.
In the other semi-final it was looking like it could go to the wire between two South Ramsey teams with James Teare, Alan Moore and Jenny Moore up against Glynn Hargraves, Stefan Kelly and Dido Kelly with the score tied at 12-12 after nine ends, however a run of four scoring ends for James, Alan and Jenny with two singles, a three and a four was enough to secure their spot in the final with a 21-12 win.
The sun was shining in the early stages of the competition at SRBC on Sunday – Photo: Geoff Collier
In the final the Marown Ladies won the first three ends to lead 9-5, with the home greeners bouncing back to take the next five ends to lead 11-9, only for another run of three scoring ends from the Marown trio including picking up a three seen them go ahead 14-11. The South Ramsey trio fought back again scoring a three themselves followed by a single to edge ahead with the score at 15-14. The Marown Team dug deep scoring with a double, a three and another double in between conceding two singles to see the game out and take a deserved 21-17 victory to secure the trophy and the £240 first prize.
At the presentation, South Ramsey Bowling Club Chairman Steve Moore thanked the sponsors and everybody at the club that helped make the competition a success. Sian was then introduced from the Sponsors Quay Fitness to present the prizes with £600 paid out in prize money, with prizes being paid out down to the quarter finalists.
Winners Nathan Hamilton (Port St Mary) and Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) with sponsor Murray Cringle (Centre)
Photo: Glynn Hargraves
Castletown Bowling Club hosted the Charity Cringle Fours men’s open competition on Sunday attracting 18 pairs to compete for the trophy on a green that was running well on the day.
The quarter finals were well contested with the lowest losing score being 16-21 with Shaun Seal (Douglas) and Collin Holland (Castletown) losing out to the South Ramsey pairing of James Teare and Steven Waters, while home greeners Alan Phair and Cliff Clague were beaten by the Marown/Peel combination of Sam Clague and Dean Kinley 19-21. In the bottom half of the draw Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) and Alan Moore (South Ramsey) ended the challenge of Jimmy Sansom (Douglas) and Andy Kennish (Peel) 21-16, with Nathan Hamilton (Port St Mary) and Stefan Kelly (South Ramsey) just edging home 21-20 against South Ramsey pair David Bradford and Glynn Hargraves.
The high scoring games continued into the semi-final as Teare and Waters put paid to the challenge of former home greeners Clague and Kinley 21-17, with their score helped with a three and a four early on in the game. In the other semi-final Roberts and Moore looked favourites to progress to the final as they were ahead 13-8 and 18-15, also led 20-18 only for a single and a double from Hamilton and Kelly being enough to progress through to the final with a 21-20 win.
The final started with it tough to call who would be favourites, however the younger pairing of Hamilton and Kelly took control of the game with eight ends played to lead 16-10 thanks to a full house scoring four. Teare and Waters got back into the game taking five consecutive singles to sit just one chalk behind at 15-16 only for Hamilton and Kelly to find another gear despite winning one end fewer throughout the match than their opponents as they took a deserved 21-17 win and with it Hamilton’s first open win.
At the conclusion of the competition the presentation was made by Phil Taubman, who thanked Kath Kinley and the club members for the smooth running of the competition & announced that £232 had been raised for Manx Blind Welfare Society. Presenting the prizes was Murray Cringle, son of long term sponsor Noel Cringle who passed away last year.
Week Two of the Canada Life International season had Division One league leaders Peel A taking on their B Team with the lower ranked team putting in a good performance winning three games. Winning for the B team were Gordon Corrin who pulled off a stunning 21-4 win over Tommy McMeiken who is notoriously hard to beat on Peel, with David Proctor no slouch himself with a 21-6 win over Gary Smith. Robert Middleton got the third win with a close 21-18 victory over Alec Taylor. For the A team winning to single figures were Ste Kelly against Michael Kavanagh, George Gadsby beat Brian Lindsay 21-8, while new signing Dean Kinley continued his fine start to life at his new club with a 21-13 win over David Smith. The result ensured Peel A remained top.
Marown A had their second visit of the season to Onchan Park, this time taking on their B Team and coming away with a 2-8 victory to jump up a place in the table to second. Winners for the home team were Mike Kelly who beat Harry Barton 21-16, while Frank Watson had a comfortable 21-13 win over new signing Sam Clague. For the Crosby men Colin Kelly was the best winner with a 21-7 win over Mike Alexander, with the rest of the Marown wins being to double figures with Mark Kelly coming closest to picking up another point for the home team losing 17-21 to Paul Kelly.
The match of the night ended up with a strong Marown B doing plenty of damage to South Ramsey A title aspirations as they secured a 5-5 draw at Crosby with the home team winning five games, however the visitors secured the crucial two-point aggregate by six chalks (135-141). For the home team Glenn Boland beat Peter Collister 21-15, a result matched by Marown captain Darren Kerruish who held off Steven Waters. Brian Kelly managed to secure a 21-17 win over new signing Jordan Cain, while Karl Parker fought back from a 13-17 deficit to run out with a 21-17 victory over James Teare, John Gelling claimed win number five of the night with a rare league defeat for David Bradford as the former performed brilliantly to win 21-14 with Bradford trying everything, however Gelling had an answer to anything that was thrown at him. The result was well deserved by the Marown men and they could realistically be pushing for fourth place in the table at the end of the season with the squad they have.
Onchan A picked up their second win of the season coming away from the Crofts with a 3-7 win over Castletown A. The visitors only dropped 10 chalks from their three losses, with Derek Lewney beating Will Penhallurick 21-18, Aaron Richardson claimed an impressive win to the same score as he beat Peter Slinger, while Peter Oates beat Mike Thomas 21-17. For the visitors Phil Kerruish beat Town captain Ian Watson 21-8, Kevin Quirk had a tough time with Ron Williams before winning 21-19, while Neil Dunwell edged it 21-20 against Nathan Cooil.
Douglas A were in better spirits following their first win of the season at home to Port Erin as they won 8-2. Kevin Firth was the best winner for the home team with a 21-10 win over Derek Allen. For the visitors Ed Benson had a stunning 21-7 win over Shaun Seal, with Harry Minor beating Willie Cowley 21-10. The visitors are still searching for their first win of the season.
Another team still awaiting their first win of the season are North Ramsey A who came away from their visit to take on Port St Mary A who are sharing the green at Breagle Glen with Port Erin whilst they search for their new forever home following the sad loss of the green in Port St Mary after 100 years. The ‘home’ team took a 7-3 win on the night with Trevor Quayle leading the way for Port with a 21-9 win over Andrew Honour, with Robbie Cooil having to battle for his 21-18 win over Adrian Skinner who looks to have settled at North Ramsey after a stint with Onchan. For the visitors Gary Merrill was ruthless with his 21-3 win over Rod Swift, Allan Callow left Paul Skelly still searching for his first win of the season with a 21-17 victory and Steve Walmsley kept up his 100% record with a 21-13 over Jordan Drewett. Just nine chalks separated the teams in a well contested match (138-127).
In Division Two Finch Hill A slumped from top of the table to fourth following their 3-7 home loss to Castletown A with the latter leapfrogging them into third place. The Town men were good value for the victory with Willie Corkill securing a win to single figures over Mark Taylor to help his team to secure the aggregate by 24 chalks.
South Ramsey B went top thanks to their 8-2 home win over Peel C with father & son, Tony & Ben Dugdale both winning to single figures with Tony winning 21-1, son Ben winning 21-7. Winning for the visitors were Harry Kelly who secured a 21-19 victory over Chas Grills, with Jimmy Corlett the other winner for Peel with a 21-5 win over Austin Hart.
Sitting in second place on 21 points are Ballaugh A who maxed out 10-0 at home to Douglas B who scored 100 chalks on the night. For the home team Richard Hainge and Philip Quayle both won to single figures against Bob Callow and Steve Gregg respectively, with Nigel Tebay in only his second season of league bowls, having been promoted from the C Team over winter just getting over the line with a 21-20 win over Geoff Mayles, with the latter being the highest points scorer for the Villa men.
Marown C currently sit in joint fourth with Finch Hill A after a solid 3-7 away win over Onchan C with Jamie Joughin and Walter McCarthy both winning to single figures for the visitors with Jamie Clague hitting back for Onchan with a 21-7 win over Steve Cain.
In Division Three North Ramsey B came away from their visit to Douglas to take on Finch Hill B with a 4-6 victory, after securing the aggregate by 10 chalks (133-143) with the result good enough for them to stay joint top on 18 points.
Peel D, are joint top following their 8-2 home win over Port Erin B with Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton enjoying his second full season upon his return to bowls, Pip will be looking to go two places better in the individual merit after finishing third overall last season, he won 21-9 against Ben Mowle, whilst Owen Crompton beat John Ryder 21-20. Another new bowler to the game Kevin Murray suffered a 15-21 defeat to Mark Stockham.
Noble’s B are performing well with Junior bowler Alex Hampson leading the way for the home team with a 21-5 win over James Teare, whilst William Cowley was on the wrong side of a 21-20 as he lost to Ciaran Broad, who was playing in only his third league game and held onto his 100% record. Grahem Moore having returned to Noble’s after a spell with Douglas, defeated another young player Clark Kelly 21-11.
Four junior bowlers participated in the fixture between Castletown C and South Ramsey D at the Crofts on Tuesday night with young Freddie Palmer performing well in his defeat to a new bowler Julian Rothera, while Sam Quayle recorded a good 21-14 win against Steve Kelly, with Junior Keggen turning out for his first league game playing a fellow youngster Ryan Hargraves with the latter winning 21-8.
The third division has a good mix of new bowlers, juniors and experienced players as they look to learn and improve their game.
Association Singles Winner - Glynn Hargraves with Association Competition Secretary Matthew Keggen
Photo: Neil Withers
Port Erin Bowling Club hosted the Association Singles on Sunday with the competition attracting a perfect 32 entries on a much improved green, which was running well.
The first two quarter finals were well contested with Neil Withers (Marown) losing out 18-21 to South Ramsey’s David Bradford, whilst Matthew Keggen (Marown) just lost 19-21 to Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary). In the bottom half of the draw it was a lot more straightforward with Colin Kelly (Marown) seeing off Peter Greenlees (Peel) with a 21-11 win, whilst Marown captain Paul Dunn had his challenge ended by South Ramsey captain Glynn Hargraves with the latter taking a 21-9 victory.
In the semi-finals Bradford took on Roberts with the game well contested throughout, the scores were tied at 15-15 after 14 ends, with Bradford going on to take four of the last six ends to secure his place in the final with a 21-17 win. In the other semi-final between Kelly and Hargraves it was the latter who was the quickest out of the blocks taking a 11-6 lead early on only for Kelly to draw level at 13-13 after 11 ends. From there Hargraves took control of the game to win the next five ends scoring seven chalks in the process to lead 20-13. Kelly threatened a comeback with four successive singles, however Hargraves got the single point needed to win 21-17.
The final got underway between the two long time team mates, with Hargraves settling into the game well to hold a three chalk lead over Bradford after eight ends with the score at 11-8. From there Hargraves never fell behind in the game, playing good length bowls to build a 16-12 lead, only to concede a double to leave the game finely poised at 16-14. Hargraves immediately bounced back with a double after a poor end from Bradford. Three good leads over the next three ends were enough for Hargraves to secure a 21-14 win and with it the first Men’s singles competition title of the 2022 season.
The presentation was made by competition secretary Matthew Keggen, who thanked Port Erin for the use of the green, the club members for providing helpers and refreshments throughout the day and the competition committee for the smooth running of the competition.
Douglas A who took on South Ramsey A in their opening fixture of the 2022 season
Photo: Phil Cain
With the first round of fixtures for the 2022 Canada Life International season getting underway this week all three divisions started with the a double week to get into the swing of things.
Peel A who finished third last year got off to a flier this week with a 2-8 away win on Monday over Castletown A. The Western team followed this up with a storming 10-0 win over Douglas A, with four single figure wins from Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly, George Gadsby, Tommy McMeiken and Gary Smith. Dean Kinley who was rumoured to be going into Peel’s B Team this season, has played both games for the A Team so far, could well remain there having won both of his games, this included a return to his old stomping ground for the first game of the season. The highest scoring visiting player was Jimmy Sansom as he lost 14-21 to Peter Greenlees.
Occupying second place are South Ramsey A, having a solid week with a 2-8 away win over Douglas A who were unlucky not to take two points more off the visitors as Bob Clark battled back from a huge deficit to get over the line 21-20 against Shaun Seal, whilst fellow new signing Jordan Cain also got home with a 21-20 win over Ian Moore. Winning for Douglas were Andy Cannell with a 21-20 win over Glynn Hargraves, with Jimmy Sansom taking a 21-18 win over Peter Collister.
On Wednesday South Ramsey A were at home to Peel B, with the weather changing swiftly as they started in sun, with heavy hailstone and then rain arriving, with the weather clearing just as quickly again. The wins for the home team were comfortable, with stand-in Andy Mackie stepping up from the D Team and proving his appearance in the final at the Marown Floodlit competition recently was no fluke as he beat Stefan Kelly 21-19 to save the whitewash as he won 18 ends to his opponents 12 ends.
In third place are Marown A as they too started the season strongly with a 9-1 home win over Port St Mary A, with Port’s new signing Nathan Hamilton taking a brilliant 21-14 win over Manx Champion Colin Kelly. For the home team Harry Barton has made the step up from the B Team and he won 21-15 against Tim Williams, with Sam Clague who has joined from Castletown inflicting a 21-14 defeat on Trevor Quayle.
On Wednesday Marown A had a tough away trip to Onchan A, would have been happy to come away with a 3-7 win, with Colin Kelly returning to winning ways, Marown captain Paul Dunn showing a return to form with a 21-9 win over Matthew Quirk, which was matched by Neil Withers beating Mike Thomas. Will Penhallurick has stepped up from the B Team and he made it two wins from two games with a 21-14 win over Paul Kelly, with Phil Kerruish and Reg Temporaza both winning 21-11 against Sam Clague and Phil Kelly respectively.
Elsewhere Castletown A have had to move a number of players up from the B Team following the exodus of five of their younger players of the winter, they bounced back from their opening fixture defeat to Peel A by beating Port Erin A 3-7 at Breagle Glen on Wednesday evening.
North Ramsey A start the season with a run of away fixtures due to not having floodlights, their form will no doubt pick up once they get a run of home fixtures, as they suffered back to back 3-7 defeats at the hands of a strong looking Marown B and Peel B.
Newly promoted Onchan B currently sit in mid table on eight points as they lost 2-8 at home to Marown B, they quickly picked up their first win of the season on Wednesday, 6-4 at home to Port St Mary A, whilst Port Erin A weren’t able to capitalise on home advantage as they lost both of their opening fixtures.
In Division Two Finch Hill A are the early leaders with 15 points after two games, with South Ramsey B hot on their heels just one point off top spot following a good 8-2 home win over Douglas B on Monday, and a 4-6 away win over a strong looking Marown C who themselves will be looking for promotion.
Last year’s relegated teams Ballaugh A beat South Ramsey C 7-3 at home, only to suffer a 6-4 loss away to Castletown B, whilst Noble’s A are finding their feet with a 7-3 win at home and a 7-3 defeat away to Ballaugh B who were promoted from Division Three over the winter. The Noble’s members have recruited a number of signings over the winter as they look to take a step forward and rebuild the club, with some great effort and enthusiasm I would like to wish them all the best.
In Division Three Douglas C are the early pacesetters following two 8-2 victories at the expense of Noble’s B and Port Erin B as they hold a four-point lead over North Ramsey B and Ballaugh C.
It was great to see Noble’s field a second team once again this season after a winter of doubt, with the B team fielding a full team in both fixtures.
Ballaugh C will once again look to be in the mix for promotion, having finished last season in third place.
Elsewhere Castletown’s C team survived, despite the exodus from their A Team over the winter, whilst Peel D will look to continue their improvement with a full seasons experience now under their belt.
League champions South Ramsey A will start as favourites for the league title in Canada Life International Sponsored Division One following two big signings over the winter in the form of Onchan’s Jordan Cain and Castletown man Bob Clark, with both players having huge experience and a good pedigree in the local game. Whilst South Ramsey undoubtedly start as favourites on paper, that will count for nothing once the new season gets underway with teams looking to cause an upset.
Marown A should not be written off just yet with their captain Paul Dunn making some sweeping changes in their top team bringing in youth, with Sam Clague coming in from Castletown and Harry Barton stepping up from their B Team whilst they are also rumoured to be signing a well-known Merseyside county player who is said to be moving to the Isle of Man. A full season of Dean Kipling should not be under-estimated, with Kipling winning all 12 league games played last season.
Newly promoted teams Port Erin A and Onchan B will be looking to consolidate their place in the top division.
In Division Two South Ramsey B have strengthened, whilst Ballaugh A will look to go straight back up. Noble’s A who were also relegated have survived another winter as they look to continue to rebuild the club, they will look to find their feet in Division Two this season. Last season’s teams promoted from Division Three Ballaugh B and Onchan C will look to adjust to life in Division Two.
In Division Three a number of teams will be looking to push on and improve, with Finch Hill looking for an immediate return to Division Two. Something always worth watching out for in Division Three is the players new to the game as they gain experience and improve.
Runner Up Andy Mackie with Sponsor Kevin Druggan of Ardern & Druggan with Gill Kissack Grundey and Winner David Bradford
Photo: Neil Withers
Marown held the opening tournament of the season following a gap of two years due to COVID, with the newly named Ian Kissack floodlight competition sponsored by Ardern & Druggan Limited attracting a healthy entry of 71. The competition was played over four days, handicaps ranging from two to eight with two qualifiers from the four qualifying sessions.
The competition commenced on Sunday afternoon with home greener Colin Kelly doing enough to qualify for the finals night ending the challenge of visitor Peter Jones, whilst club mate Debbie Leece performed well to book her spot in the quarter finals.
Sunday evening continued the run of home green players qualifying with Neil Withers seeing off his team mate and captain Paul Dunn on his way to book his spot in finals night, while Rebecca Teare ensured she progressed with a close fought game against Marown A player Phil Kelly.
Monday evening’s action started to see the away greeners progress with South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves navigating his way through his three qualifying games, with Hargraves being pushed hard by Will Penhallurick (Onchan) who lost out 19-21. In the other half of the session Peel D player Andy Mackie who only took the game up part way through last season, was playing off a handicap of seven, however Mackie was not to be underestimated as he recovered from a 11-14 deficit in his last game of the night to take 10 consecutive chalks to win 21-14 against the highly rated Trevor Quayle (Port St Mary).
The last qualifying session took place on Tuesday evening with new South Ramsey signing Bob Clark squeezing through his last game of the night 21-17 against Peel’s David Proctor, whilst team mate David Bradford who had only had one run out this season following a recent bout of COVID made no mistake in taking his spot in finals night as he beat Marown player Paul Kelly 21-15 on the way to qualifying.
Finals night was highly anticipated with two strong players from the Ladies game, five top Men’s players split between Marown and South Ramsey, with Peel D man Andy Mackie the surprise package.
The competition was redrawn at the quarter final stage with Rebecca Teare leading 18-14 against Clark, only for the latter to fight back and run out with a 21-18 victory. Debbie Leece led 13-10 after nine ends against Andy Mackie only for Mackie to stamp his authority on the game taking a 21-16 win to book his spot in the next round.
In the other half of the draw Glynn Hargraves built up a 17-8 lead only for Withers to fight back to 19-20, with Hargraves securing the single he needed to win 21-19. David Bradford also had a good lead on Manx Champion Colin Kelly, only for Kelly to get back into the game at 17-18. Bradford took the next two ends with a double and a single to win 21-17.
Continuing the trend both semi-finals were well contested with Mackie having a good lead on Clark, with Clark fighting back to lie game counting two at 19-20, however a slice of good fortune with an ‘in-off’ his own bowl secured the single needed by Mackie to book his place in the final. In the other semi-final the South Ramsey team mates had a good battle with Bradford edging it 21-17 against Hargraves.
The final was eagerly anticipated with Bradford starting on a handicap of three and Mackie starting on seven. Bradford pulled the handicap back early, with Mackie picking up the odd point to stay in contention. Mackie fought back with two quick doubles to threaten a huge upset as he took a 15-12 lead, however Bradford’s experience came through as he scored nine chalks over the next six ends to win 21-15 to pick up his second title in this competition after his 2018 success. Huge credit must go to Mackie who has not yet played a full season of bowls and having only played a couple of open competitions.
The presentation was made by Marown President Peter Kelly, with Kevin Druggan introduced from the sponsor Ardern & Druggan, whilst Ian Kissack’s sister Gill presented the shield to the winner. Thanks were given to the Marown ladies for the excellent refreshments provided. In his speech Bradford spoke of the huge loss to Marown over the past couple of months with the passing of Pat Withers and Ian Kissack.
Juan Kelly Cup Winners 2021 - Paul Dunn & Neil Withers with Sponsor Juan Kelly
Photo: Arnie Withers
Marown Bowling Club hosted the Juan Kelly Cup last week with the competition now in its fifth year it had 48 pairs taking part. As is becoming the norm in these competitions there were some interesting pairings making use of the handicap system which was played over two qualifying nights (Tuesday and Wednesday), with four pairs qualifying each night, in order to qualify for the finals night on Thursday evening.
The format was any combination doubles, played over 15 ends with ends 5, 10 and 15 played as ‘power’ ends with the points scored counting double. The pairs were given a handicap based on their rankings in the Men’s and Ladies game. If scores were tied after 15 ends a one bowl shootout would take place to decide the winner.
Spot prizes were awarded on both qualifying nights to the pair with the highest break, we did get to see a one-bowl shoot on Wednesday evening between Douglas duo Nick Firth and John Ferguson who took on Peel pair Gordon Corrin and Dougie Allan with the score tied at 21-21 after 15 ends the Peel pair won the shootout to progress to the next round.
For finals night a re-draw took place to determine who the pairings would play on the night, with a good mixture of high and low handicaps still in the competition. The excellent floodlights came into good use for the duration of the competition.
Losing quarter finalists were South Ramsey’s James Teare and Jenny Moore (+2), who lost out heavily to Onchan pair Wil Penhallurick and Jamie Clague (+7) 13-24, while Reg Temporaza and Rob Monk (+2) looked to be going through to the next round against home greeners Phil Kelly and John Gelling (+1) only for a brilliant last bowl from Gelling which swung the game in their favour and ensured a stunning 18-17 win. Marown D team players Phil Dunn and Steve Rough (+8) agonisingly lost out due to the one bowl shootout against Port St Mary’s Steve and Mavis Franks (+7) after tying 23-23 after 15 ends. In the last quarter final, it was an all Marown affair with Withers and Dunn (+0) proving too strong for team mates Matthew Keggen and Paul Kelly (+2) as they won 23-8.
The semi-finals were all one-way traffic in the first half of the game in favour of both Marown pairs, with Kelly and Gelling up against Penhallurick and Clague with the Onchan men clawing their way back into the game only to lose out 12-24. Dunn and Withers reached the final with a 29-14 win over the Port St Mary pair.
The final was well contested, with the score tied at 9-9 after nine ends played there was little to choose between the teams. On end 10 Dunn and Withers scored a two which was doubled up to count four to lead 13-9. The following four ends were exchanged with Dunn and Withers scoring another four, while Kelly and Gelling scored three to put the score at 17-12. On end 15 only a three – to score six would do for Kelly and Gelling to win the game, there was a shot on which they couldn’t quite pull off resulting in Dunn and Withers scoring a one to win 19-12 as they won this competition for the first time, carrying on the tradition of different winners every year since the competition was introduced.
At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Brian Kelly, who thanked Juan Kelly for once again sponsoring the competition, the Ladies for the refreshments over all three nights, the players for entering, and all those who came to support. The sponsor Juan Kelly was then introduced to present the prizes, with Juan paying tribute to everyone at the club including the green keepers for their work on the green.
South Ramsey A capped a fine season taking the top prizes following up on their recent Rayner Shield win to secure the League Title on Monday Night
Photo: Arnie Withers
The crown green bowls league season finished with another double week as the league winners, promotion battles and bottom teams were settled in all three Divisions along with the individual merit winners.
In Ellan Vannin Fuels Division One South Ramsey A proved to be the top team this season as they followed up on their recent Rayner Shield victory as they wrestled the league title back from Marown A. The northern team had the same group of players as they had two seasons ago, improving on their 2019 tally by nine points, to top the table with 173 point as they won the league by 12 points, ending the season in good form as they won 9-1 at home to Ballaugh A on Monday night to secure the title and then came away from the Villa on Wednesday evening with a 2-8 win.
The only matter to be settled in their last match was who would be the individual merit winner. The overall and deserving winner was recent Manx Masters champion David Bradford (pictured below) who secured the accolade with 21 wins from 21 games played to cap a fine season. Finishing in second place was team mate Glynn Hargraves with 21 wins from 22 games played (3 chalks dropped), while Dido Kelly completed an all South Ramsey top three in the merit with 19 wins from 20 played (5 chalks dropped). The one match Bradford missed due to a back injury was at home to Marown A, which coincidentally was the same night that the home team lost 3-7, with both Hargraves and Kelly losing their one and only league game this season.
Photo: Gary Weightman
Marown A finished the season in second place with a hard earned 3-7 away win over Peel B, followed up by a 9-1 home win over North Ramsey A.
The Crosby men will be taking a hard look at where they can improve next season, despite continuing a run that has resulted in them finishing no lower than second place in every season since 1996 as they finished the season 19 points worse off than 2019.
Peel A had a tough night on Monday as they lost 4-6 away to Marown B, a damaging result for their hopes of a second placed finish, as they suffered a second successive defeat, however they bounced back on Wednesday with an 8-2 home win over Port St Mary A.
The Peel men managed to finish in third – their highest league finish for a long time as they improved on their 2019 points total by 26 points, they will look to continue to improve next year as they finished the season just seven points behind Marown A following two damaging defeats towards the end of the season to fall into third place after occupying second place for most of the season only to be pipped at the post by Marown.
Ballaugh A finished in the bottom two to confirm an immediate return to Division Two as they join Noble’s A who had already been relegated, while Peel B will be delighted to have comfortably retained their top flight status having been promoted in 2019.
In Division Two Onchan B had the unenviable task of knowing what score they needed to win to with the other teams in contention having played the night before, with a tricky looking trip north to take on South Ramsey C, however they brushed aside the home team 2-8 to seal top spot and a long awaited return to Division One by a single point in a nervy ending to the season.
Photo: Steve Parker
Finishing in second place were Port Erin A on 129 points, as they finished just one point behind Onchan B, with the Port men finishing four points clear ofboth South Ramsey B and Castletown B as the Breagle Glen outfit ensured they returned to the top flight with a 7-3 home win over Marown C, then turned over Port St Mary B 10-0 to finish the season strongly.
South Ramsey B probably did as well as they could this week, but will rue a number of poor results throughout the season as they just fell short despite winning a tough game 3-7 away to Finch Hill A, followed by a 9-1 home win over Douglas B, whilst Castletown B dropped seven costly points in their last two outings as they beat Port St Mary B 7-3, then won 4-6 away to Peel C.
Finishing in rock bottom, a massive 46 points from safety on just 41 points were Finch Hill B, while Port St Mary B were also in one of the relegation spots as they finished 17 points from safety on 70 points, with the club looking to regroup over the winter, as they move onto pastures new.
The individual merit went to Onchan B player Mike Thomas (pictured below), despite missing a game as he managed to finish top of the pile with 18 wins from 19 games played (10 chalks dropped). Finishing in second place was Finch Hill A man Dave McCabe who won the same number of games as the Onchan man, however 14 chalks dropped in his two losses ultimately cost McCabe. In third and fourth place were two South Ramsey B players, Steven Waters and Tony Dugdale with both missing two games, as they stepped up to help out their A Team who were battling for the title.
Photo: Norman Kneen
In Division Three Ballaugh B doubled up as they won the title with 146 points, while their star man John Bolton (pictured below) sealed the individual merit with a 21-5 win over South Ramsey D player Matthew Corkill. Upon being told he had won the individual merit Bolton was clearly shocked and delighted as he won 18 games out of 20 games played in a fine season for his team and on a personal level.
Photo: Glynn Hargraves
The Ballaugh men finished the season strongly with their 2-8 away win over Port Erin B, then followed this up with an 8-2 home win over South Ramsey D.
Photo: Ray Parry
Onchan C finished the season in second place with 129 points, 17 points behind the league winners and 12 points ahead of third place Ballaugh C. It proved to be a poor week for Onchan as while they did enough to secure second place they lost 8-2 away to Ballaugh C then drew 5-5 at home to Marown D with the visitors winning five games, however the home team edged the aggregate by one chalk (149-148) to avoid a second successive defeat.
Rounding up the individual merit places in Division Three James Drinkwater (Castletown C) won 17 games from 19 played (13 chalks dropped), while Peel D player Philip ‘Pip’ Pemberton can be proud of his efforts this season with 17 wins from 20 games played and just 15 chalks dropped.
Winners of the 4 Events Played at South Ramsey on Sunday with sponsors Chris & Lynnette Perry of Felton’s Ironmongers and Dido Kelly of Stonemasons (IOM) Ltd
Photos: Glynn Hargraves & Arnie Withers
South Ramsey hosted the Manx Masters on Sunday, one of the highlights of the Manx bowls calendar with four separate competitions once again taking place throughout the day.
The Young Manx Masters was contested by seven players of Primary School age. This competition was played in a round robin format with seven players in the group playing six ends with the last end played as a ‘power’ end with points scored counting double. After a good morning of bowls, it was Evan Leece (Marown) who won the title topping the group with 48 points, with Bailey McMullan (Mooragh Park) finishing in second place on 40 points.
Young Manx Masters Winner – Evan Leece (Marown)
The Junior Manx Masters was played as a straight knockout for the older and more experienced players with 19 players taking part as a number have moved up into this category this year. The title was won for the first time by 15-year-old Madison McMullan (North Ramsey) who beat 12-year-old Sam Colquitt (Marown) 21-18 in a well contested final, with Madison just edging her semi-final game to beat Grace Gawne (Onchan) 21-20, whilst Sam beat Katie Jacobs (Douglas) 21-13 to take his spot in the final.
Junior Manx Masters Winner – Madison McMullan (Mooragh Park)
The standard of play in both events was excellent and there was a fantastic crowd around the green supporting the future of the game with the numbers steadily increasing throughout, it made for a great morning.
The junior competitions were sponsored by Stonemasons (IOM) Limited for a fifth successive year with the prizes presented by Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly. Everyone who took part received a prize. A huge thanks must go to the coaches – Clare Cooper, Phil Kelly & Colin Kelly who helped the younger players with their games throughout the morning.
Once the Junior competitions came to a conclusion the Felton’s sponsored men’s and ladies events got underway with the ladies event being an invitation of 16 players, whilst the men’s event had 32 invited to play.
In the ladies event losing out at the quarter final stages were Sue Gawne (Onchan) 10-21 to Clare Cooper (Marown), Margie Tasker lost to the same score against Port St Mary team mate Trish Bull, while Rebecca Teare (Marown) lost 16-21 to Jenny Moore (South Ramsey). The closest game of the quarter finals was between Fiona Kennish (South Ramsey) and Janet Monk (Mooragh Park) with the latter winning 21-17.
In the semi-finals Clare Cooper seen off Trish Bull with a 21-15 win, whilst Jenny Moore had things a bit easier with a 21-9 win over Janet Monk to go through to the final.
In the final Cooper won six of the first 10 ends, scoring singles with some good second bowls, while Moore scored four doubles to lead 11-9. Moore stepped up a gear to take four consecutive singles, before finding another gear to finish with three consecutive doubles to see the game out with a 21-9 win over Cooper to take her fourth consecutive ladies Masters title. Moore’s day was almost over before it had started, very nearly going out in the first round finding herself 17-9 down against Debbie Leece (Marown) only to claw her way back into the game on a longer length to win 21-20, showing that a game is never over as she battled back to come through as all top players do.
In the men’s event four of the eight last 16 games were well contested with the player losing out scoring 16 or more. Losing out at the quarter final stage were Tom Kelly (Peel), who lost 8-21 to Kevin Quirk (Onchan), Matthew Quirk (Onchan) had his challenge ended by Wayne Roberts (Port St Mary) 16-21. In the bottom half of the draw Reg Temporaza (Onchan) lost out 17-21 to David Bradford (South Ramsey), while Glynn Hargraves beat South Ramsey team mate Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly 21-16 to progress to the next round.
In the semi-final Quirk took a convincing 21-8 win over Wayne Roberts with the latter reaching his second successive Masters semi-final, whilst in the other semi-final team mates Bradford and Hargraves were finely poised after the first 15 ends with the score at 13-12 it was Bradford who went on to run out with a 21-12 victory to earn his place in the final.
In front of a good crowd who had stayed for the duration, the final started with the light fading quickly, with both players reluctant for the floodlights to go on, this however did not reduce the quality of play from either player. After the early exchanges, with both players trying different marks and lengths Bradford led Quirk by one chalk at 13-12 with 16 ends played. Bradford took four of the next five ends to lead 18-14, with Quirk then scoring singles on three of the next four ends in between a double from Bradford who led 20-17. On the last end Bradford made sure of the win as he played a great last bowl to seal a 21-17 victory over Quirk and claim his third Manx Masters title, following on from his back to back successes in 2014 and 2015.
At the end of the competition the presentation was made by South Ramsey’s Glynn Hargraves, who thanked Alan Moore for his excellent work running the sheet for all four competitions all day, the team involved with the preparation of the green. Chris & Lynnette Perry were then introduced to present the prizes on behalf of the sponsors Felton’s Ironmongers who without their support this event would not be possible.
Upon accepting the trophy Bradford thanked the green keepers for the work that goes into maintaining the green all year round, again thanking Alan Moore for his hard work keeping the competition moving, along with everyone who had helped in any way towards the smooth running of the competitions. A special mention was given to the ladies who once again put on an ever increasing range of superb refreshments throughout the day. It was also great to see such a large crowd stay for to watch a superb final. £1,000 was paid out in prize money on the day.
